Shiva Nata: the Dance of Shiva
Forget coordination.
Someone recently asked the question I always forget to answer. It’s the one thing that just about everyone wants to know… and still, I forget about it.
The reason I forget about it is actually almost part of the answer, but now I’m getting ahead of myself.
So here it is:
Is “coordination” a pre-req for Shiva Nata?
The short answer is: “Oh dear God, no!”
But it’s the longer answer that’s more interesting.
Actually, the less coordinated you are the better.
Here’s the thing you have to understand about Shiva Nata.
We’re training your brain to be faster, better and more powerful. More capable of quickly making and accessing new neural connections.
But we’re doing that by intentionally practicing the parts that are too hard for us. We’re challenging our coordination, not using it.
More than that, though …
We’re trying to mess it up. We’re trying to get it wrong. No, more wrong!
You’re only doing it right when you’re doing it wrong.
So if you’re really coordinated? It’s going to be more work for you to make sure you’re getting challenged. It will still kick your ass, don’t get me wrong. You’ll just have to work a little harder.
And if you’re not so coordinated — or not at all — that’s good news.
Because you won’t have to work as hard. You’ll already be lost from the get-go, which is what you want. I mean, that’s the whole point.
So yes. Lack of coordination is a huge advantage in Dance of Shiva.
Now here’s the irony.
Unfortunately for you (hahahahaha), the more you do Dance of Shiva, the more coordinated you will become. Which means you’ll have to work harder.
It may, in fact, turn you into a ninja. Or something. For example, my teacher. I have never, ever seen him drop anything. If something falls he catches it. He’s just that fast.
So your days of being completely uncoordinated are sadly numbered.
On the other hand, Shiva Nata only gets harder and harder. And each new level is crazier and crazier. So as your brain evolves and your body catches up, there’s still work to do.
You’re still going to be bad at it. And feel completely uncoordinated, incompetent and generally befuddled. Which is a good thing! Confused yet?
The reason I always forget about this question.
I guess I’ve just been doing this for too long.
The idea — however revolutionary it may be — that I’m trying to do everything wrong in this practice, that I’m trying to be bad at it… it’s already ingrained in my system.
It’s a part of me.
It’s just so obvious to me (from years of practice) that of course you actually want to be uncoordinated. And on the other hand, that you will constantly be getting more coordinated…
Oh the paradox. Oh the conundrum. Oh the frustration, madness and joy that is the Dance of Shiva.
So I forget to reassure people. Let me reassure you now.
If you are hopelessly uncoordinated, revel in it! Because you’re going to be getting your hot buttered epiphanies faster and with less effort.
Though yeah, if you keep at it, it won’t be long until you won’t get to call yourself “uncoordinated” any more.
And if you’re a dancer or a choreographer or have done a ton of martial arts, come to one of my workshops or use the DVD in the Starter Kit. And you’ll also get to feel like an uncoordinated, flailing mess like the rest of us. :)
We’ll just have to work a little harder.
The hardest class I ever taught was a group of professional dancers and choreographers in Berlin. They were all from Argentina and Spain. I taught in a mixture of English and German… and they could do pretty much anything I threw at them.
Yeah, I got them — finally — to the point where they were utterly and completely lost confused and overwhelmed (which is, after all, the goal).
But man, it was so so so hard. And I was sore for a week afterwards!
Moral of the story?
You don’t need to be coordinated.
You don’t need to be graceful.
You don’t need any experience with dance or movement. Because all these things that seem and feel to you right now like a lack or a hindrance are actually going to be the key to your success.
The oven door, if you will, to those hot buttered epiphanies.
Where you are right now — wherever that is — is a good thing. I promise.
“The oven door, if you will, to those hot buttered epiphanies.”
Oven door …
So, what … 350°?
:-)
Twitter: havi
*dances around excitedly*
Yeah, we might have to experiment with the temperature …
Havi-
Thanks for answering my question! I am going to “revel” in my uncoordinated state from this point forward! I’ve had enough uncomfortable situations over the years where I was required to exhibit some modicum of coordination – i.e. step aerobics, learning to juggle, dancing, a few kung fu classes, all ending in abject failure.
I have a very difficult time following along if someone is facing me and I need to mirror what they are doing.
If grace and coordination are not pre-reqs, this will be right up my alley :D
…and if “hot buttered epiphanies” come my way as a result of my uncoordination, well that will be positively life altering!
carmas last blog post..Husband DEFLATES further
Uh oh… are you ladies cooking up (tee hee) a Bikram Shiva Nata spinoff? ;)
As for coordination… I thought that having some experience with bellydancing and knowing how to isolate various parts of my body would help. In hindsight, my only comment is “yeah, right”, although “Pfft!” might be appropriate too.
Even in my bumbling, flailing-around stage, I do have to say that the movements are strangely beautiful though. Most importantly, they *feel* right and the insights are coming fast and furious. What more could a fledgling Shivanaut want?
Joyfully yours,
Emmanuelle
Havi, glad to know I possess one of the pre-requisites for getting the most kisses per cookies from this practice.
On a related (in my brain) note: is it time to move when when I can do the movements while watching Andrey or when I can do them on my own?
I can struggle through Level 1 horizontal arms s-l-o-w, and am learning Level 1 verticals. I spend a few days attempting to do the entire horizontal sequence without prompting, then go back to the DVD for a day.
In short, with the DVD, I’m about 80% there; without it, I’m about 50% there.
I mix in some level one verticals for about 1/3 of my practice time.
Dear, dear Havi, am I doing it wrong enough? Right enough? Just-right?
xox
Molly
i have been a dancer all my life and WOW
i’m still on the most basic level one ever (like, the SLOW level 1 in the DVD, and only plain horizontals and verticals) and my butt is being totally kicked.
and today i had a muscular epiphany – does that even exist or did i just invent it? anyway, it was just amazing!
Ok, I can do uncoordinated. That’s my specialty. I have years of being asked to leave dance and gymnastics classes to prove it.
What about balance and vertigo? I’ve had trouble with yoga in the past, because I have weird low blood pressure and some changes of pose trigger a drop, and inversions are particularly a problem. Does Shiva Nata have a lot of inversions or altitude changes?
Twitter: ericnormand
Hi Havi!
I’ve been doing the lessons from the video and working without out it. I had a bunch of epiphanies at first, but they are slowing down. Sounds typical of what you say happens when it’s too easy.
I still need a little clarification about what you mean by “doing it wrong”. I can do the horizontals and verticals on slow mode with Andrey, or I can do them decently quickly on my own. But when I try to do them with Andrey on the fast mode, it’s like I’m trying to swat a bunch of bees that just got really pissed off. That is to say that I’m not doing the movements correctly. It’s still really fun and challenging, but I’ve got this feeling that I’ve developed from my Kung Fu practice that tells me that I should slow down, practice without the video, and come back to the fast video mode when I can do it a little faster.
What I want to know is this: what does your experience tell you about the best way to have epiphanies? Is it the personal practice, where you are alone, counting the numbers, or the follow-along-with-Andrey method, which kind of feels like cheating since you don’t really have to know where you are.
Should I do it fast and sloppy (which you seem to be implying) or focus on getting it right, making a few mistakes here and there (which my martial arts experience is telling me).
Eric Normands last blog post..Chocolate
Twitter: ericnormand
So I did Shiva Nata again this morning. My intention was to figure out the epiphanies thing (and one other intention), which is honestly the main reason I bought the thing.
I wanted to experiment. I decided to do it as fast as possible, trying to keep up the tempo regardless of how many mistakes I made. I did level one arms and legs. Twice. Then I did just arms seriously fast.
I made tons of mistakes. Then I sat for meditation, and it hit me. Shiva is about creative destruction. By doing it slowly, I was only creating new habits. But by doing it quickly, I was noticing all of my old habits, some of which were destroyed. They made room for noticing all kinds of patterns in the arms, which I then started using to do it better.
Epiphanies! It’s like in life. It’s boring if you’re not making mistakes. You should aim to make as many mistakes as possible. Very applicable all over the place.
Thanks Havi!!!!
Eric Normands last blog post..Chocolate
I find the vertical arms easier than the horizontal arms. I am doing them slowly because right now, they are kicking my ass!